The Genesee County Land Bank house at 422 W. 1st Ave. is at the heart of a conflict in Flint's Carriage Town neighborhood. The Land Bank wants to see the house demolished, while the Historic District Commission wants it to be rehabilitated.Lauren Justice | MLive.com

The Flint resident feels so strongly about properly preserving the city's Carriage Town structures that she's willing to stand in front of a backhoe moving toward the front yard.

On Friday, Barkus blocked a city utility crew's machine as workers were attempting to shut off the water at 422 W. 1st Ave., which was scheduled for demolition.

The crew was called off the site, but the clash over the house continues, as it has for more than a year.

The 1890s Tudor-style home is at the heart of a conflict between the Genesee County Land Bank, which wants to tear it down, and the city's Historic District Commission, which wants it preserved and rehabilitated.

Barkus, who lives a few houses down, heard the machinery Friday morning and leaped into action because she believes the proper procedures were not followed in dealing with the historic district home. She wanted to stop any work from being done before it was too late, she said.

"In terms of the craftsmanship and the quality of the building materials, we can't rebuild these homes," said Barkus, a former historic district commissioner for 12 years who still closely follows the issue. "People look past that and see a house that needs paint
and has boards on the windows, and they don't appreciate that this house saw General Motors
and its beginnings. It's part of the tangible history of this city."

The vacant house is owned by the Genesee County Land Bank.

The agency originally wanted to demolish the house, but later agreed to rehabilitate it with federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant funds to satisfy the Historic District Commission, said Doug Weiland, executive director of the Land Bank.

After a contractor began preliminary rehabilitation work, a city inspector and structural engineer who examined the house said the foundation and basement walls were not sound, Weiland said.

To get the house up to code would have pushed the total project cost at more than $250,000, the limit set by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for the project, he said.

The Land Bank decided tearing down the house would be a more cost-effective course of action, he said. The Land Bank took the engineering reports to the Historic District Commission, but the commission denied the request for demolition, he said.

Heather Burnash, a historic district commissioner, said the Land Bank should have solicited additional bids for the structural work to make sure there were no other feasible options for renovating the house, and maintains that the Land Bank should have taken better care of the house from the start.

The houses that the Land Bank owns in the area's historic districts, such as Carriage Town, should receive priority for preservation and rehabilitation, she said.

"Secure them and board them up and tarp them... or don't acquire them," she said. "They know what they're bound by when they choose to take
on these houses. Rehab is expensive. Restoring a house the right way is
expensive, but they need to do it the right way."

She also said Carriage Town has lost 200 structures over the years to demolition, and can't afford to lose any more.

"I don't think the Land Bank has done everything they can
do to save this house," she said.

The Land Bank has rehabilitated several homes in the Carriage Town neighborhood, including a home right next door to 422 W. 1st Ave., using federal funds.

Barkus said the Land Bank work on those homes was "amazing," but this house should also be preserved.

Weiland said the house in question is old, but that doesn't necessarily make it a historic home. It resides in a
designated historic district, but he said it's in "horrible condition."

"It's
not like Billy Durant lived there," he said. "This is a
dump that at some point was converted to a two-unit rental."

The Land Bank appealed the commission's decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which approved demolition.

Jason Lorenz, Flint public information officer, said proper procedures were followed in terms of city ordinances.

"The house was deemed not a good use of funds to try to restore it," he said.

After the Historic District Commission said the Land Bank had to receive permission from the State Historic Preservation Office, Weiland said the Land Bank spoke with the state office, who advised them to first exhaust all local remedies.

"The board of appeals was a local remedy," Weiland said.

The Land Bank then hired the city of Flint's utility crew to cut off the water at the house in preparation for the demolition, leading to Friday's standoff, he said.

"At
this
point, we told them to stand down until we deal with this with the city
attorney," Weiland said.

The house next door was recently purchased by Chad Schlosser, who moved in about a month ago. He said he witnessed the confrontation Friday between Barkus and the city utility workers.

"They obviously were having an altercation and then she was on the phone," he said. "Then they eventually left and we were like, 'Wow, she actually stopped them.'"

Schlosser said the house is an eyesore and he doesn't mind whether it's torn down or renovated -- as long as something happens with it.

"What I really don't want is for the conflict to lead to nothing happening," he said. "I'm fine with either direction they go in."

Weiland said the Land Bank plans to meet with the Flint city attorney's office next week to discuss how to proceed. The Land Bank still intends to demolish the house, he said.

"Our attorney and the city attorney will be meeting to discuss the ordinance," he said. "They (the Historic District Commission) are saying proper procedure wasn't followed and we don't think that is correct."

Burnash said she hopes this incident leads to better communication among all parties involved, "so we're all on the same page moving forward," she said.

"This is an opportunity to work together for all the agencies to shine," she said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.